Rafa talks derby days on Twitch

Legendary former striker Rafa van der Vaart relished the north London derby - and he’s spoken exclusively to our official Twitch channel ahead of Sunday’s latest instalment at the Emirates.

Signing on deadline day ahead of 2010/11, Rafa scored on his home debut against Wolves and was named Player of the Month in the Premier League in October, 2011. He finished his first season with 15 goals - eight created by Peter Crouch - and lit up the Lane with performances against the Gunners and in the Champions League.

Indeed, in just four games against Arsenal, he had as many goals, including a goal and two assists at the Emirates in November, 2010, as we came from 2-0 down to win 3-2. That was quite a month for the Dutchman - he also opened the scoring in the memorable 3-1 win against Champions League holders Inter at the Lane.

Rafa scored another 13 goals in 2011/12 before returning to Hamburg in 2012. Formerly at Ajax, Hamburg and Real Madrid, spells followed at Real Betis, FC Midtjylland and Esbjerg fB, where he announced his retirement in 2018. He was back at the new stadium in March, 2019 and received one of the biggest cheers as our Legends took on Inter Forever.

Speaking to Twitch presenter and Spurs fan Rebekah Walker, Rafa reflected on those two wonderful seasons in a Spurs shirt – and what it meant to not just play, but score against our rivals from down the road.

“I was told from the start, score in that game, and you’ll be a hero forever,” said Rafa. “I always seemed to play well against Arsenal. The 3-2 win (November, 2010) was really special. I remember the first half, it was maybe my worst game ever! I was so bad. At half-time we were losing 2-0.

“Harry (Redknapp, manager) came in, told us to sit down and listen, he made one substitution, and everything changed. It was like two different games in one day, and we won. After the third goal, I thought, ‘wow’. To see how much it meant for the fans… I knew it was a big game, but I never realised it was so deep.”

Check out Rebekah’s full interview with Rafa in Sunday’s Twitch watchalong - we’re on air from 3.30pm!